The Takeaway: How pitchers' command is reflected in the way the Red Sox play defense_BINARY_991349

Brian MacPherson Journal Sports Writer brianmacp

Sunday

Apr 28, 2013 at 6:35 PM

As Boston has sprinted out to an 18-7 start, it's done so not just on the strength of its pitching and hitting but on the strength of its defense, too. Fielders are turning balls into play into outs at a significantly higher rate than they did a year

BOSTON -- Daniel Nava made two terrific catches in right field on Sunday. He made a basket catch on the warning track in front of the bullpen in the second inning to strand a runner, and he made a face-first diving catch in the grass in front of the Pesky Pole to end the game in the ninth inning.

As Boston has sprinted out to an 18-7 start, it's done so not just on the strength of its pitching and hitting but on the strength of its defense, too. Fielders are turning balls into play into outs at a significantly higher rate than they did a year ago.

And for that they've got their pitchers to thank.

"We can position based on the information that we have because our starters have been consistent with their location," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "It's when you start to misfire that you start pitching against the grain. It's hard to defend when pitchers are not hitting their spots, and we've been able to do that."

"As an infielder, for us, we can position ourselves the way we need to position and get a feel for the game," shortstop Stephen Drew said. "That's what it's about. You can position yourself where you think they're going hit balls or whatnot to get double plays, we've been able to do that."

Batting average on balls in play is a statistic most often applied to pitchers. The idea -- pioneered more than 10 years ago -- is that batted balls find gaps in the defense at the same rate no matter who's pitching. A pitcher who's seeing more than 70 percent of batted balls find fielders' gloves is likely to see more batted balls land in the grass in the future. A pitcher who's seeing more than 30 percent of batted balls land in the grass is likely to see more batted balls find gloves in the future.

But who the fielders are can affect that, too. Tampa Bay's Jeremy Hellickson has pitched in the major leagues for parts of four seasons and still has sustained a BABIP of .244 -- a number generally considered to be unsustainable.

The reason for that is that the Rays' defense generally turns batted balls into outs at a higher rate than other teams. The more batted balls are turned into outs, the lower a pitcher's batting average on balls in play -- which means BABIP can be a measure of defensive efficiency.

Boston's pitching staff had the fourth-worst BABIP in the major leagues last season. Some of that might be because its pitchers were giving up line drives all over the place, but some of that also is because they just had a below-average defense. The worst teams in the American League in that category:

The Red Sox have improved their defensive efficiency by 11 points so far. With opposing hitters having accumulated almost 800 at-bats, those 11 points translate into eight extra balls in play that have been turned into outs. At that rate, over an entire season, that's 54 extra balls in play that would be turned into outs.

That the Red Sox have a better defense -- Shane Victorino was added to play right field, and having Jacoby Ellsbury in the lineup every day helps enormously, too -- contributes to that.

But the way the Boston pitchers have pitched contributes to that, too. If an infielder is expecting a pitcher to throw a sinker away, he positions himself in a certain way based on the way he expects the ball to come off the bat. If the pitcher misses his spot and throws a sinker in instead, everything about the play changes -- and the fielder isn't in the right position to make the play.

So far this season, Red Sox pitchers are pitching with the command within the strike zone to allow their fielders to do their job.

"If they hit their spot, we have a good idea of, if they put it in play, where it's going to be," second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "(If not), you just have to play kind of traditional -- like if it's a righthanded hitter, the second baseman covers the base. If a guy is hitting their spots, it makes it easier on us. We can kind of have some fun. You can anticipate the ball being hit in a certain area."

Twitter: @brianmacp

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